Greatest Hits by the Notorious B.I.G. returns to the Billboard 200 and celebrates 400 weeks on the chart — a first for the late superstar rapper. The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) performs at 92.3 The Beat Summer Jam on August 13, 1995 at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, California. (Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)
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Nearly 30 years ago, hip-hop lost one of its most important figures: Christopher Wallace, usually referred to as Biggie Smalls or the Notorious B.I.G. The rapper was shot and killed in the spring of 1997. He was just 24 years old at the time, and yet he remains, decades later, one of the most influential names in the history of rap music.
B.I.G. is so popular that Americans continue to consume the music he left behind – which helped create the now-dominant hip-hop genre – in massive numbers, week after week. The superstar doesn’t always appear on the Billboard charts, but it’s not uncommon for him to land on one list or another, typically with his beloved compilation, the simply-named Greatest Hits. That set returns to the most important albums tally in America this week, and as it does, B.I.G. posthumously reaches a milestone he’s never seen before.
The Notorious B.I.G. Returns With Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits by B.I.G. finds its way back to the Billboard 200 this frame. The tally ranks the most-consumed albums and EPs in the United States, and both actual purchases and streaming equivalent units compiled from plays across all streaming music platforms in the country are included in the list’s methodology.
This time around, Greatest Hits bounces in at No. 189. Luminate reports that in the most recent tracking period, which is reflected on the current Billboard charts, the compilation moved just under 9,750 equivalent units. Streams are responsible for well over 9,000 of those copies, as the title sold just 300 units.
Greatest Hits Reaches 400 Weeks
Greatest Hits is the first release by B.I.G. to hit 400 weeks on the Billboard 200. In fact, it remains the only full-length from the hip-hop megastar to crack triple-digit frames anywhere on the rundown.
Ready to Die is close to crossing that threshold, as it’s up to 97 stays somewhere on the 200-space ranking. Life After Death doesn’t trail far behind, with 90 weeks spent somewhere on the Billboard 200.
Greatest Hits has lived on the Billboard 200 longer than all of the rapper’s other charting efforts combined.
Biggie Has Three No. 1 Albums
Both during his lifetime and in the decades that have passed since his death, B.I.G. has sent only half a dozen projects to the Billboard 200. Amazingly, half of those have reached No. 1, and Greatest Hits is counted among those leaders. B.I.G. first topped the tally in April 1997 with Life After Death. Sadly, that set ruled only weeks after he was shot and killed. Two years later, Born Again spent one frame at the summit.
Greatest Hits didn’t debut on the Billboard 200 until March 2007 – a decade after the hip-hop musician’s passing – and the fact that it launched in first place was yet another sign that he was a generational talent. B.I.G. also cracked the top 10 a year before Greatest Hits with Duets: The Final Chapter. That project opened and peaked at No. 3.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 26: Faith Evans performs onstage during the 2022 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
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Ready to Die hit the Billboard 200 in 1994 and narrowly missed out on entering the top 10, as it peaked at No. 15. Most recently, in 2017, Biggie was credited on the album The King & I with Faith Evans, his one-time spouse. That collaborative set spent one frame at No. 65 during its run.